"Moving to the right in general" is definitely something that is very difficult to define, and while there has been progress on some fronts, for awhile as an example, whenever gay marriage was put to popular vote it was defeated, whereas the courts kind of got us going in the right direction. I had numerous "liberal" acquaintances who were opposed to "gay marriage, although most were for some kind of civil union. A weird distinction, but it usually came from their religious beliefs about the ceremony of marriage (and the unfounded fear that their particular church would be forced to conduct and condone gay marriage). But once people saw the social fabric didn't unravel, their lives continued on in the same way it always had, it has become more acceptable and suddenly a non-issue for many. 

I think 9/11 did a number on the collective psyche of the American public, where suddenly the notion of torture became open to debate, something I never thought might happen in the 21st-Century America, and so on. Moreover, economic woes always tend to generate a bunker mentality, which I would say generates a more conservative stance as people tend to become more focused on themselves and those closest to them (and to hell with the rest). People care about the environment, but in places dependent upon coal generated electricity, when it comes to battle between paying higher utility bills to protect the environment or continuing in the old ways, the personal wallet tends to always makes the decision.

'Moving to the right' for me includes in a large part a move towards less government and community or collective involvement in the lives of people. I guess I would say less that we have been moving more to the right and say more accurately that we have become more libertarian in our views.  'It Takes a Village' has lost some ground over a decade, unless of course the village is gathering to fight those pesky terrorists.

The GOP operates by gerrymandering and voter suppression. For local elections, it doesn't matter what the majority of voters in a state want. The GOP makes sure that rural, a Conservative voters prevail. In the last election cycle there were situations where Democrats as a group had more votes than Republicans in some stes, but Democrats did not win seats.

Voters of all stripes wanted background checks, the NRA did not want background checks. The Republicans blocked changes in gun laws and face no voter pushback because the Republicans are in protected districts. Voters want immigration reform, but the Tea Party does not. Republicans will obstruct any move to address immigration. They will not lose seats.

When the press before the election was writing that the only question was how large Cantor's margin of victory would be there was likely little in depth press attention and investigation of Brat. He was likely not well known in depth even in his district.  Well he's famous now. I agree, there'll be a mic and camera in face constantly from now until the general. I doubt he'll handle it well. It wouldn't be the first time the crazy won in a republican district, but it wouldn't be the first time the crazy lost to a democrat in a republican district either.